


A Crown of Green

by ashangel101010



Series: A Crown of Green [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe, Force-Sensitive Armitage Hux, Gen, Jedi Ben Solo, M/M, Nice Armitage Hux, Queel (Star Wars), The Force, Young Armitage Hux
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-20
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:34:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26002741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashangel101010/pseuds/ashangel101010
Summary: Ben Solo meets the swamp's champion.
Relationships: Armitage Hux & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Armitage Hux & Luke Skywalker, Armitage Hux/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Ben Solo & Voe (Star Wars), Luke Skywalker & Ben Solo
Series: A Crown of Green [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1887334
Comments: 3
Kudos: 32





	A Crown of Green

**Author's Note:**

> I own nothing in the Star Wars universe or anything in any universe; I just like writing stories in that universe.

A Crown of Green

*

Main Theme- Blue Monday by New Order

*

The Force hums through the swamp world of Queel. It buzzes in the humidity. It swims through the thick mud. It sways with the moss on the trees. It…..It thrashes as the duracrete fills in its holes. It claws at the metal poles stabbing into the artificial ground. It wails as another tree is felled before its time. The Force is…

It is…

It is—

“What is the Force saying, Ben?”

“I don’t think it likes the research base, Master.” Ben pricks up his ears and listens to his fellow padawans’ commentary.

“It’s better than another military base.” Voe huffs and swats away another mosquito.

“Yeah, but the Republic one wasn’t permanent.” Tai chimes in.

“However, the Confederacy and the Old Republic did use this world as a battleground. I doubt it’s forgotten that.” Hennix mediates.

“And how do we know he’s telling the truth?” Voe asks venomously.

“He wouldn’t lie to Master Skywalker.” Hennix argues.

“Tai, what is the Force telling you?”

“Nothing.” Tai shrugs his shoulders.

“Tai is a natural empath; he should be able to feel the pain that the world is going through, but he isn’t.”

“I’m not as strong in the Force like Ben. None of us are.” Tai points out neutrally. Ben likes Tai for his gentle candor; he views the bald boy as his closest friend with Hennix being a close second. The Quarren was witty and accepted his lack of Force talent. Unlike Voe. 

“Master, how long will we be here?” Ben whispers as an entourage of white jumpsuits draw near.

“For as long as the Force wills it.” His Master squashes his grimace with a civil smile for Karflo Corporation’s administrator. A man with a face as sour as a lime curd smooths back a lock of white hair and then scowls at all of them.

“Administrator Renerdat, I’m Master Luke Skywalker and these are my padawans.” His Master was going to name them, but the older man interjects brusquely.

“I asked for an elite squad trained in guerilla warfare. The Senate, in their infinite wisdom, sent me mystics.” Renerdat’s sneer puckers the mass of wrinkles on his ruddy forehead.

“The Senate thought it best for my Order to investigate your _trespasser_ problem.” Ben knows his Master is softening the truth much like his mother would when dealing with the childish centrists.

“It’s not just a trespasser! It’s an eco-terrorist hells-bent on destroying my facility!” Ben feels glad that he’s not in arms reach of the administrator since he’s a spitting man. 

“And why would an eco-terrorist be here? The general populace has no knowledge of Queel.” 

“How the bloody Maker am I supposed to know!? You’re here to figure it out and take care of the menace!” Renerdat shouts and then turns on his heel to head back into his climate-controlled facility. Only one member from his entourage stays behind, a Mirialan. Her short hair is the color of evergreens, her eyes are sea glass, while her smooth skin is a light green. Her geometric tattoos form a cross on her round face.

“Hello, Master Skywalker, I’m Kixiaralu, Kixi for short, and I’m the cyber security technician for this facility.” _A fancy title for IT flunkey._ Ben keeps his Solo tongue still.

“It’s nice to meet you. I presume you have the data on the supposed _eco-terrorist_.”

“Unfortunately, the _trespasser_ avoids the cameras like blasterfire. However, I was able to get one holo of decent quality.” She pulls up the holo in question and enlarges it for all to see.

The eco-terrorist in question looks like he or she sprung from the swamp world itself. Their sealed environment uniform is green as the murky bog waters, while their rubber boots are an officer’s black. They wear a poncho of swamp moss that hides the boxy backpack and a headdress of heart-shaped leaves that reach their well-protected rump. A helmet with a black visor and a built-in respirator mask keeps the muck from suffocating them. One of their long legs takes the head off a security droid exactly like an Echani martial art.

“A swamp trooper? I don’t think even the First Order have those anymore.” Voe remarks and wrinkles her nose.

“It’s not the First Order. The insignia on the helmet is the Empire’s. We’re dealing with an Imperial, probably one that crashed here decades ago and has no idea that the war is over.” Hennix theorizes.

“Or an eco-terrorist that lifted the armor from some dead trooper.” Tai proposes.

“The _trooper’s_ attacks are random. Sometimes, they strike at the dead of night. Sometimes, in broad daylight. Sometimes, more than once in a day. The administrator has the security droids patrolling around-the-chrono, but they’re easily dispatched along with their security feed.” Kixi shakes her head.

“Then, we’ll patrol alongside the droids for the day and see if our trespasser shows themselves.” His Master decides in accordance with the will of the Force.

*

His Master assigns him the midnight watch. He has an excuse not to sleep, for often the Force torments in his unguarded state. And he gets to be blissfully alone, save for the 501-Z droids, or Zeds. The Zeds are 1.8 meters tall with a single red eye, further adding to their intimidation factor, along with stun sticks purposely designed to look like maces. They were brought in to replace the clearly ineffective _Roger-Roger_ droids and are programmed to have more intelligence than a legion of those Clone Wars-era droids. Unfortunately, they’re quite pricey, so there are only five of them. And their silver paintjob makes them stick out as badly as the thumb-shaped facility. Even in the murky reflection of the swamp water.

_Zeds are designed for cities like Coruscant, not a backwater world that even the Empire forgot. Can they swim? I doubt it considering how heavy they look. And the Force feels real fuzzy like a blow to the—_

And the swamp trooper emerges from the water like an unearthly god and gasses him. Ben coughs violently and then passes out into the arms of the trooper.

*

When Ben comes to, he finds himself on a bed of moss. He sees green everywhere he looks, and the Force sings through every leaf, vine, and even in the mud stuck in his hair. He looks down at his utility belt and sees his saber still clipped to his waist; he then searches his pockets and finds that the comlink is gone. A wall of heart-shaped leaves move to let in the swamp trooper.

“Are you a Jedi?” The voice booms gutturally like a vocoder used in monster holos. 

“I am, and who are you?”

“A mole from the ministry.” He chuckles and then he reaches up to take off his helmet. Ben swallows at the handsome, freckled face before him. His eyes are such a watery green that he can see some blue in there. Short strands of red fan across his sweaty forehead. Ben wishes he could brush those fiery strands away for him, but he keeps his hands to himself. Hux goes down on his one knee like a fairytale knight before a prince.

“I’m Armitage Hux, and what’s your name, good sir?” His natural voice sounds as painfully posh as an Eriaduan, but there’s an airy twist in his words like a Naboo. Ben wonders if he’s just putting on act to match his knightly visage.

“Ben Solo.”

“Well, shouldn’t you be _Ben Organa-Solo_ with a hyphen; she doesn’t strike me as the kind of woman to take her husband’s name and discard her own.”

“My full name is _Ben Organa Solo_ without the hyphen. I go by _Ben Solo_ because it’s shorter. My mother goes by _Senator Leia Organa_ to the rest of the galaxy.”

“If she’s also going by a title, couldn’t you go as _Prince Organa Solo_?”

“My mother dissolved the monarchy as soon as New Alderaan was established.” Hux rolls his eyes.

“That’s not going to stop the rest of the galaxy from calling her _princess_.”

“Not even Threepio.” He wasn’t certain that Hux knew who the protocol droid was, but the redhead laughs sincerely.

“I doubt you kidnapped me to discuss surnames.”

“You’re right. The plants told me to.” Hux says nonchalantly.

“………..They talk to you?”

“They do now. When I first got to Queel, I couldn’t hear a thing from them until they gave me their fruit.”

“Fruit?”

A vine descends from the ceiling, and the fruit in question hangs off it. It’s as yellow as desert sand and egg-shaped. Hux plucks it easily enough and bites into it without hesitation. The Force flutters awake in Hux. His ill-defined presence in the Force becomes a small light of green.

“Their voices came in like static, but the more fruit I ate, the clearer they sound.”

“It’s making you Force-sensitive!”

“Huh?” Hux says with his mouth filled with black and white fruit flesh.

“The Force flows strongly through the planet’s vegetation. They commune with you through the Force, so they’ve been steadily increasing the Force inside you.”

“Wouldn’t they be increasing the midi-chlorians since those are what determine how strong you are in the Force?”

“The Force is the Force, and it’s growing in you.”

“I bet it’ll go away once I stop eating the fruit like a Force detox!” He smiles with some gray seeds stuck in his slightly crooked teeth.

“I don’t think it—”

And another swamp trooper walks through the waterfall of green. His uniform is exactly like Hux’s, right down to the little bits of mud stuck to the tops of his rubber boots.

“Hi, Morph!” Hux waves with the half-eaten fruit in his hand.

“The Jedi has awoken.” His twin says plainly.

“Yes, and he’s going to help us.”

“In what? In destroying the facility?”

“In rescuing my mate, Polly.” The vocoder warbles inhumanely like Hux’s. 

“From the facility?” 

“Yes, the scientists, Doctor Trem DeSelvaine and Doctor Sera, are keeping my mate imprisoned!” The trooper changes form into a silver humanoid as smooth as liquid mercury.

“What is so special about your species?” 

“We Polydroxol are shapeshifters with a very unique circulatory system that relies on electroglobins. We can regrow limbs and heal quickly from most injuries, but we can still die from electroglobin loss. We replenish our electroglobins through long rests; they captured my mate while they were resting.”

“So Karflo is trying to unlock the secrets to such regeneration?”

“Perhaps, or they’re probably engineering a bioweapon from the species. You know evil science reasons.” Hux comments glibly as he finishes off the fruit.

“And I’m guessing the plants are very much against kidnapping and torture?”

“You can feel their pain, unlike the rest of your Order.”

“My Master must’ve felt it; he just wanted to make sure that it wasn’t just him who could feel their suffering. My Master and I are the only ones in the Order strong in the Force.” _And me terribly so._

“Then, he wasn’t listening.”

_Would it be the first time he’s ignored the suffering of another? Remember, how you howled and wailed for your mother? How you didn’t want to be a Jedi? He didn’t care and waited for you to cry yourself hoarse. Even your mother wouldn’t listen to you in your natural bond._ Ben swallows and tries hard to ignore the scalding truth of his mind.

“If we go to my Master and tell him all of this, I’m sure he’ll believe us.”

“Your Senate sent him and his New Jedi Order here to _help_ Karflo.” Morph remarks coldly.

“We’re here to _investigate_ what’s going on here. Clearly, Karflo is doing shady poodoo here! We’ll go to my uncle, he’ll tell the Senate, and then Queel will be free of Karflo.”

“When will all that happen? By next week?” Hux snorts derisively. “Polly will be killed by then and any traces of Karflo’s crimes will be gone. Do you believe that the Senate will act quickly enough to save Polly?”

“…………No.” _Even if I can get a hold of my mother, she would still have to convince the Senate and that would take days, if not a week. They won’t act fast enough._

“We will save my mate.” Morph declares.

“But we could use your help.” Hux adds.

“I’m just a padawan.”

“Exactly, you and your Order would be allowed to be inside the facility for security reasons. You could turn off the security system, including the force field protecting the power generators, and we’ll handle everything else.”

“And how am I supposed to know which button will turn it off? It’s not like there’s one giant red button!”

“Use the Force.”

Ben scoffs and shakes his shaggy head.

“Or your lightsaber. I’m pretty certain that’s how your gr- _Jedi ancestors_ did it.”

“When are you planning the rescue?”

“We had to move our timetable up to this morning.”

“I can’t guarantee that I will get it done.”

“All I’m asking for you to do is _try_.”

*

The Queel water dragon, a long-neck and aquatic gentle giant, takes them only a few klicks away from the research facility and hides behind a two white oaks. Ben hops down and causes some swamp water to soak his leggings. Ben looks up at Armitage and sees a friendly thumbs-up. Ben keeps his sigh bottled up and saves it for later. He moves quickly and, within a klick, sees the bright white of Voe’s hair. Her face is dark with barely contained anger. He inhales, exhales, and prepares himself for another one of Voe’s self-righteous lectures.

“Where the hells have you been?” She demands with crossed arms.

“Chasing the trooper.”

“Impossible. The terrorist was busy destroying two of the droids, while you were chasing a ghost.” Without Master or their friends around, Voe lets her true feelings for him be known. Hostility with bits of gray-eyed envy.

“I guess there’s two of them now.” He grits out and keeps his temper in check by walking away from her.

“Where are you going?” She shouts.

“Getting some Sith-damn caf!” He doesn’t hear her follow, so he turns his head back. She stands with her back to him, stiff with anger, but watching the green horizon for their Master and friends. He hates her, but she does care about the Order and its people. 

He ignores the disdainful looks that the white jumpsuits give him and beelines for the security room; he hopes beyond rationality that the room is empty. It isn’t.

“Oh, you’re fine. The Master and the boys went out looking for you when you disappeared.” She picks up her blue caf mug and turns to face him.

“I’d comm my Master, but I lost my comlink.” He admits and wonders if Hux will ever give it back.

“Yeah, I’d comm him, but I’ve gotta take my fifteen. I guess you’re here to look over the feed and see if you can gleam anything new about the trooper.”

“Yes.” He lies easily.

“I’ll leave the feed up, and there’s a fresh pot of caf in the breakroom in case you need a cup. Just make sure you don’t spill it on the equipment.” She says lightly and heads out without a second glance.

Ben reaches out in the Force for a way to shut off the thousands of blinking lights. 

He receives none.

He sighs and unclips his saber.

*

Polly lost track of time after four electrocutions. Sometimes, they wake to feeding tubes pumping various poisons down their throat. Sometimes, they wake to the human scientists preparing them for dissection. Sometimes, they are a puddle unable to scream. The near constant is the force field keeping them prisoner.

There was a field.

The lights go out.

The humans scramble in the dark.

They touch the air.

They step out.

They hear the humans cursing.

The humans don’t hear them.

Polly makes them scream.

They regain time with every cracked bone, broken tooth, and unanswered plea.

Thirty minutes later, Polly leaves their prison behind.

*

The blue light of his saber acts as a much needed light when Armitage and Morph destroyed the power generators. He then hears screaming down the hall and he runs towards the sound. He finds the unconscious administrator in cuffbands, a blood-drenched Polly, and Kixi pointing a blaster at the Polydroxol.

“Polly, I’m a Jedi and I’m here to help you.” Ben focuses on making his tone as even as possible like his mother. 

“Then, work your magic on her and make her step aside.” Polly suggests coldly.

“I need him alive.” She keeps her blaster steady. “I’ve been working undercover for the New Republic’s Ministry of Security in the cyber division. I need to bring the administrator to my superiors, so they can find out what other shady poodoo that Karflo has been up to.”

“They were working on a toxin to kill my people; I’ve killed the scientists that were making it.”

“Polly, you avenged yourself; there’s no need for further killings.” Ben pleads gently.

“I saw his face there with the scientists. He knew I was there and did not stop them nor cared about my plight. Monsters like him have to die.”

“Your mate, Morph, is here. They’ve been trying to rescue you all this time. Wouldn’t you rather reunite with them than waste more time with this sleemo?”

“……I haven’t seen them in so long.” They admit mournfully.

“Then, go to them. I promise you if this sleemo doesn’t get prison time, then I won’t stop you again.”

Polly moves past them and through the doors. Kixi puts her blaster away and hauls the unconscious man up.

“I could use a little help taking out the trash.”

“Why didn’t notify my Master about your mission?”

“Because I didn’t think the Senate was going to send Jedi here.”

“You still could’ve told my Master.”

“Oh yeah, Luke Skywalker, Destroyer of the Death Star, can totally keep his mouth shut and lie as masterfully as the old Emperor for this very secret mission.” She says sarcastically.

“Okay, I get you didn’t trust him not to mess your operation up, but how could you trust Hux!?”

“Because our goals aligned. And the swamp chose him.” 

*

Luke Skywalker spent half the day searching for Ben. The swamp mimicked Ben’s Force-signature for it’s as naturally strong in the Force as his nephew. Tai and Hennix failed to find any trace of their fellow padawan. He’s spent the return trip figuring out how to break the news to Leia and Han.

“Master, why are all the researchers tied up?” Hennix’s question brings him momentarily out of his family woes. He sees the force field gone and dozens of men and women in white jumpsuits tied together with vines from the swamp, while Voe snores in her sleep on the steps of the facility. Kixi is there, chatting on her comlink with someone who sounds to be Security Minister Corran Horn. Meanwhile, Ben is chatting amicably with the unmasked swamp trooper.

_He’s just a teenager. No more than eighteen. And he has the Force._

The trooper waves at him, and Ben’s smile is wiped off his face when he sees Luke. The familial warmth between them has cooled over the years. Luke wants to believe that Ben is taking the “no attachments” rule too seriously, but he knows that his nephew has never wanted to be a Jedi and is avenging himself in small ways.

_His temper and powers were out of control back then; he was a hazard to anyone that angered him. Now, he’s……better. Though he prefers solitude than being around his fellow padawans. Voe doesn’t help matters, but at least she wants to be a Jedi._

“Yo, Master Skywalker!” The trooper waves a hand and gestures him to come over.

“Tai, Hennix attend to Voe.” He lightly orders and heads for the friendly pair. Ben looks down at his muddied boots, while the trooper gives him a smile with his slightly crooked teeth.

“Hi, I’m Armitage Hux.” The redhead sticks out his hand for him to shake. Luke does not take it. 

“Hux? Any relation to General Brendol Hux?”

“The Commandant’s my sire. You’ve seen him?”

“No, but I’ve heard of his importance in _your_ Order.”

“You sound so accusatory.” Hux laughs. “I’m technically not a citizen of the First Order, so it’s really not _my_ Order.”

“How? You’re the son of a founder!”

“Well, I lacked the Imperial birth certificate to qualify for traditional citizenship and I was far too old to be born in the FO.”

“You can’t be that old.” Ben insists.

“I’ll be eighteen in another seven months.”

“You’re five years older than me.” Ben’s brown eyes burn with a curious intensity. Luke is fairly certain that Ben must’ve read his grandfather’s war journals without his knowledge. Anakin wasn’t exactly hiding his love for Padmé.

“You’re twelve? Man, you kids grow up big here!” Ben beams up at him.

“I did not know that the First Order had Force-sensitive children.” Luke draws the redhead’s attention again.

“We don’t. I’m pretty certain that the Force has forsaken us.”

“But you have the Force.”

“That’s because I ate magic fruit, Luuke.” Hux elongates the _u_ like he’s trying to annoy him.

“Be serious.”

“He is serious. The swamp gave him fruit. I bore witness.” Ben says with a deadpan expression.

“You’re Force-sensitive now. You will need training—” 

“And you’ll train me in the way of the Jedi and be enslaved to Ashla. But then my only other option would be the Dark Side and sell my soul to Bogan.” Hux snaps his fingers. “I know I’ll just go to the Grays!”

“Do you mean the Gray Jedi? I’m fairly certain that they’re all dead.” Ben comments.

“Correct, but I was referring to the blanket term for those that didn’t side with either Force extreme.” Hux replies.

“And where are these _Grays_? The Empire had a policy of killing anyone not aligned to their tyranny.” Luke points out.

“Also, correct. However, the Jedi, or rather your Jedi ancestors, _exiled_ the Grays that wouldn’t convert. They went into the Unknown Regions because what other choice did they have? Otherspace?” Hux rolls his suddenly blue eyes. “Most of them were enslaved upon arrival, but, eventually, they adapted and regained their freedom.”

“Master, is that true?” Ben looks at him with his milky brown eyes.

“It was in their ancient past.” _Though I had no idea that they went off into the Unknown Regions, I just thought they gave up their ways or were killed by the Sith._

“Tell that to the Handmaiden Sisters three centuries ago.” Hux mutters and then moves on. “Voss Mystics? Zakuul Knights? I could go to Dathomir since most of the clans use the Light Side of the Force, but most of the clans looks down on males. Or I could go to the Sorcerers of Tund if I want some Dark Side knowledge. And those are the ones I can name off the top of my head. I’ve got so many options with the Grays.”

“Do the Grays _hate_ the Jedi?” Ben asks in a low voice.

“The Sorcerers of Tund out of principle, and maybe the Handmaiden Sisters since their recent exiles, and the Nightsisters and Nightbrothers are dead so the rest of the Dathomir doesn’t, but everyone else I listed? I’d say no for the rest because it was millennia ago and their descendants have accepted the Unknown Region as their home galaxy, but that’s just my opinion.”

Ben turns his face away from Hux and faces his uncle. Determination is set in his Leia-like eyes. Luke sighs and just knows how well this will go.

“Master, we should reach out to these Grays and establish ties with them. We can learn so much of the Force from their unique perspectives! We can assure them the New Jedi Order will not make the mistakes of the old. And we can also map out the Unknown Regions for the New Republic in case the FO goes to war with us.” He looks at Hux and mumbles, “No offense.”

“Considering Snoke’s laziness, I’d give the war another decade or two before it happens. If it happens at all. It’s more likely we’ll finally piss off the wrong alien empire and go to war with them. Or the Far-Outsiders will kill us all.” Hux shrugs and even the Force around him matches his lack of concern for his people’s dark future. 

“Ben, there are so few of us that I can’t risk the safety of our fledgling order for a miniscule chance of knowledge in a fairly hostile part of the galaxy.” Luke states firmly.

“But think of the knowledge and all the allies we can make!” Ben pleads.

“Perhaps, in the future when there are more knights and masters. For now, we will stay in the New Republic.” Luke feels a twinge of guilt for dashing his nephew’s hopes and then a bit of fear as he sees anger in those eyes. Ben storms off for their ship, and Luke knows that he won’t be seeing the boy for the rest of the trip.

“It wouldn’t hurt the New Jedi Order to branch out. And to have a back-up home when the Republic decides to betray you all again.” Hux says diplomatically.

“The Senate won’t betray us.”

“And history never repeats itself?” Hux puts on his helmet and ventures back into the swamp. Luke watches the young man become one with the green and can’t help but wonder if he should’ve tried harder in persuading him to stay.

*

Armitage Hux wonders how long it will take for the Polydroxol mates to make it home. He forgot to ask them, but he figures that Kixi’s ship will get them there safely. Morph often complained that the _Queen Izrina_ should’ve died in the Great Sith War. Hux loves his old Vanya-class ship, rust and all. Its groans and hisses let him know when someone is skulking about in its hull.

And his newfound Force-senses let him know it’s a Force-user.

“Ben, any reason you’re here and not with your fellow Jedi?” Hux swings his pilot chair around to face the twelve-year-old. Ben has a small pack on his back and nervously plays with the hilt of his lightsaber.

“The Force told me to follow you. I know that my Master said we shouldn’t go into the Unknown Regions, but I could not disobey a directive from the Force. I sense you will lead me to greatness.” Ben declares with all the arrogant confidence in his gangly body.

“So you want to be a Jedi Ambassador then? That wouldn’t be so bad for your Order, to have someone versed in politics since your Master seems content in his blind faith.” Hux comments and notices the boy shifting his muddied boots.

“I also want to help you. I can teach you some basic techniques in using the Force. Like meditation! It doesn’t really do me any good, but I bet it’ll suit you.” Ben’s cheeks turn a rose pink.

“Do you have any other skills? Because I could use some help around the ship.”

“I can do laundry, clean stone floors, make minor ship repairs, and I’m the best cook in the Order.”

“I hate cooking, so you can pay your way in food with me. But you must do one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“You need to let someone know, be it your mum or dad, where you’re going. Whenever I left the Academy, I always let the Commandant know what I was going in case something happened. And it’s not nice to keep those you care about in the dark!”

“I don’t have my comlink.”

“Oh, right. Here you go.” Hux pulls the comlink from his pack on the co-pilot’s chair and then tosses it to him. Ben catches it without a single fumble.

“Thank you.”

“If you go down the hall and on your first left, there’s the spare bedroom. Go and let a loved one know your feelings.” Hux orders. Ben nods and does what he’s told. Hux turns his chair around and gets his ship ready for hyperspace jump. He closes his eyes and listens to Queel one last time.

_Thumping, fluttering, shouting, singing, and crying. Goodbye, Queel, and thank you for your Light and Darkness._

*

**Author's Note:**

> Author’s Comments- Here are the links: 
> 
> Kixiaralu “Kixi” comes from Star Wars: The Old Republic game and is a slicer that depending on the player’s choices can either live or die. This videogame is a fount of characters that I can use in my stories: [Link](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/starwars/images/6/62/Kixi.png/revision/latest/top-crop/width/360/height/450?cb=20150803134419)
> 
> The wig of leaves I’d imagine Hux wearing would look a lot like Poison Ivy’s hair in The Long Halloween with a bit of Princess Mononoke: [Link](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/marvel_dc/images/1/17/Batman_the_Long_Halloween_6.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20080618061328)
> 
> Hux’s swamp trooper outfit, but a little more streamlined and with a poncho made of swamp moss: [Link](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/starwars/images/0/08/Org_swamptrooper_1.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/340?cb=20130426110359)
> 
> Polydroxol were shapeshifters that could mimic other species and their languages perfectly, but not the skin texture, and that usually gave away that they were not who they were mimicking. They look like Silver Surfers but without the surfboard. They come from “Treasure Hunt” of Twin Stars of Kira, a paperback supplement to Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game by West End Games: [Link](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/starwars/images/0/07/MorphThePolydroxol-TSoK.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20111029044349)
> 
> The Mole from the Ministry joke is based on the song of the same name by The Dukes of Stratosphear aka XTC: [Link](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BT6fRQY9EUE)
> 
> In Legends/EU, specifically in The Clone Wars: Crash Course comic, Queel exists as a Mid Rim planet with the Queel water dragon being its only native species. It was used as a battlefield during the Clone Wars and was never used again. Same with the Polydroxol, but they have nothing to do with CW. 
> 
> There’s a comic panel in The Rise of Kylo Ren comic that shows there were more than four Jedi training at Luke’s school on an undisclosed planet. I’d like to believe that Ben, Hennix, Tai, and Voe were just the first and oldest of Luke’s padawans, and that maybe there are more Jedi (most likely at the padawan level like Caleb Dume/Kanan Jarrus) out there then what the last two Sequels would have you believe. Also, I’m pretty certain that the comment is from Ben’s POV, and given how he acts in the movies, I presume he’s an unreliable narrator and that most of the comic was him justifying his actions to himself by making himself both a victim and a “hero.” But that would be giving the comic far too much credit. Anyways, I decided against my better judgement to use Hennix, Tai, and Voe beyond mentions. 
> 
> Against my better judgement and in face of the many series I’m not even close to concluding, I decided to write another series. This time focusing on the potential of a Force-sensitive, possibly full-blown Force-user, Armitage Hux with Jedi Ben Solo tagging along on pretty much a road trip to meeting other Force groups. I plan for eventual Kylux (I don’t know the ship name for Hux/Ben.) but only when they’re grown adults. So this is another slow burn story.


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